Fate / Opportunity / Chance

因緣 is the Buddhist concept of a chance meeting or an opportunity that presents itself by fate.

Sometimes this is used to describe a cosmic chain of events or cause and effect.

It also is used to describe predestined relationships between people - and sometimes married couples (although if you want one about marriage, try this: Fate / Destiny of Lovers.

因緣 can also be translated as origin, karma, destiny, affinity, connection, and relation. This all depends on context - seen alone on a wall scroll, this will be read with a "fate / chance" meaning by a Chinese person, or a Korean person who can read Hanja.

The more complex definition of this word would be, "Direct causes and indirect conditions, which underlie the actions of all things."

This concept is known as nidana in the original Sanskrit. Also sometimes presented as hetupratyaya (or "hetu and prataya") which I believe is Pali.

Note: Japanese will tend to use this version of the second Kanji:
If you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, expect that you'll get this version. However, this word often carries a negative connotation in Japanese (bad things happen), as it is used that way in a certain Japanese idiom. Therefore, this may not be the best choice if Japanese is your target language.

(of something) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb motion; change; confusion; (female given name) Yurugi Move, stir, motion, mutable; movement arises from the nature of wind which is the cause of motion.

line of business; industry; occupation; job; employment; school studies; enterprise; property; (Buddhism) karma; deed; to engage in; already; surname Ye deed; act; work; performance; {Buddh} (See 果報) karma (i.e. actions committed in a former life); (n,suf) (1) work; business; company; agency; (2) study; (personal name) Hajime; (surname) Gyou karman, karma, "action, work, deed"; "moral duty"; "product, result, effect." M.W. The doctrine of the act; deeds and their effects on the character, especially in their relation to succeeding forms of transmigration. The 三業 are thought, word, and deed, each as good, bad, or indifferent. Karma from former lives is 宿業, from present conduct 現業. Karma is moral action that causes future retribution, and either good or evil transmigration. It is also that moral kernel in which each being survives death for further rebirth or metempsychosis. There are categories of 2, 3, 4, 6, and 10; the 六業 are rebirth in the hells, or as animals, hungry ghosts, men, devas, or asuras: v. 六趣.

world; CL:個|个[ge4] (1) the world; society; the universe; (2) sphere; circle; world; (can be adjective with の) (3) renowned; world-famous; well-known outside of Japan; (4) {Buddh} (original meaning) realm governed by one Buddha; space; (surname, female given name) Sekai Loka 世間; the finite world, the world, a world, which is of two kinds: (1) 衆生世界 that of the living, who are receiving their 正報 correct recompense or karma; (2) 器世界 that of the material, or that on which karma depends for expression. By the living is meant 有情 the sentient.

judge's desk; complex legal case; contentious issue; koan (Zen Buddhism) Zen question for meditation (e.g. the sound of one hand clapping); koan J. kōan; 因緣 A dossier, or case-record; a cause; public laws, regulations; case-law. Problems set by Zen masters, upon which thought is concentrated as a means to attain inner unity and illumination; public case

the Four Noble Truths (Budd.), covered by the acronym 苦集滅道: all life is suffering 苦, the cause of suffering is desire 集, emancipation comes only by eliminating passions 滅|灭, the way 道 to emancipation is the Eight-fold Noble Way 八正道 {Buddh} (See 苦集滅道) The Four Noble Truths (of Buddhism) catvāri-ārya-satyāni; 四聖諦; 四眞諦. The four dogmas, or noble truths, the primary and fundamental doctrines of Śākyamuni, said to approximate to the form of medical diagnosis. They are pain or 'suffering, its cause, its ending, the way thereto; that existence is suffering, that human passion (taṇhā, 欲 desire) is the cause of continued suffering, that by the destruction of human passion existence may be brought to an end; that by a life of holiness the destruction of human passion may be attained'. Childers. The four are 苦, 聚 (or 集), 滅, and 道諦, i. e. duḥkha 豆佉, samudaya 三牟提耶, nirodha 尼棲陀, and mārga 末加. Eitel interprets them (1) 'that 'misery' is a necessary attribute of sentient existence'; (2) that 'the 'accumulation' of misery is caused by the passions'; (3) that 'the 'extinction' of passion is possible; (4) mārga is 'the doctrine of the 'path' that leads to the extinction of passion'. (1) 苦 suffering is the lot of the 六趣 six states of existence; (2) 集 is the aggregation (or exacerbation) of suffering by reason of the passions; (3) 滅 is nirvana, the extinction of desire and its consequences, and the leaving of the sufferings of mortality as void and extinct; (4) 道 is the way of such extinction, i. e. the 八正道 eightfold correct way. The first two are considered to be related to this life, the last two to 出世間 a life outside or apart from the world. The four are described as the fundamental doctrines first preached to his five former ascetic companions. Those who accepted these truths were in the stage of śrāvaka. There is much dispute as to the meaning of 滅 'extinction' as to whether it means extinction of suffering, of passion, or of existence. The Nirvana Sutra 18 says that whoever accepts the four dogmas will put an end to births and deaths 若能見四諦則得斷生死 which does not of necessity mean the termination of existence but that of continued transmigration. v. 滅.

{Buddh} (See 八正道) right livelihood samyagājīva, the fifth of the 八正道, right livelihood, right life; 'abstaining from any of the forbidden modes of living. ' 正因 The true or direct cause, as compared with 緣因 a contributory cause.

self-respect; self-love; self-regard; regard for oneself; to cherish one's good name; to take good care of one's health (noun/participle) (1) taking care of oneself (esp. used as an epistolary imperative); (2) self-love Self-love, cause of all pursuit or seeking, which in turn causes all suffering. All Buddhas put away self-love and all pursuit, or seeking, such elimination being nirvāṇa.

samudaya, the second of the four dogmas, that the cause of suffering lies in the passions and their resultant karma. The Chinese 集 'accumulation' does not correctly translate samudaya, which means 'origination'; [noble] truth of the arising of suffering

In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.

Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"single-character wall scroll.We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also
attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over
6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers
in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt
such a feat.